


A Good Influence

by rokosourobouros



Category: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
Genre: Flirting, Multi, OT3, Post-Canon, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24151231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokosourobouros/pseuds/rokosourobouros
Summary: Proteus wants to go adventuring, and promises his father he'll be a good influence on Sinbad and Marina.Unfortunately, Proteus is also a pushover.
Relationships: Marina/Proteus/Sinbad (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61
Collections: Wayback Exchange 2020





	A Good Influence

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS AHH I've never written for this movie before despite how much I love it! Proteus was always my fave as a little bab so I decided to center this on him and his nervous lil vibes.

Proteus son of Dymas, first of his name, would-be heir to the throne if he wasn’t more than keen to let his new baby half-brother have the cur- er, responsibility, was definitely not nervous. He wasn’t having cold feet. He didn’t get anxious. Nor did he have the shakes, tremors, any hint of fear, hesitation or anything else one might name when his two favourite people were an hour out from Syracuse.

Princes didn’t _get_ nervous.

Ex-princes who had just told their father that as much as they loved Syracuse, they apparently had significantly less patience for political maneuvering than they thought, though?

Maybe a little.

“You can always come back,” Dymas said quietly from his shoulder. “I just want you to know that.”

“I know,” Proteus sighed. “And I appreciate that. I just-“

Dymas put a hand on his shoulder. Proteus _knew_ his father was disappointed, but he was being so supportive that it almost made it worse. But a small smile flickered over his father’s face, too. “I probably should have seen this coming. You and Sinbad were attached at the hip for _years._ I thought I was finally rid of that rascal, but he’s like a bad penny.”

“Oh, complain all you want, Father, I know you like him.”

“Despite my better instincts, yes. But-“ Dymas held up a finger to Proteus’s face, tapping him on the nose. “You do _not_ have a letter of marque. Neither does Sinbad. And god forbid Marina managed to get one from Thrace. I am perfectly fine with you going sailing and adventuring and trading. I will _not_ have you turning pirate on me.”

“I won’t, Father. I promise. I’ll be a _good_ influence on Sinbad.”

“I thought the same would be true of Marina,” Dymas grumbled, “and look how _that_ turned out.”

That was a good point, Proteus reflected, or would have been if he didn’t know full well that Marina’s status as a “good influence” had already been in significant doubt. He could see them now, the Chimera’s sails as flame-orange as ever against the setting sun.

Time for something new.

\---

About two weeks later, Proteus was wondering if he hadn’t jumped a _little_ too quickly into this whole ‘run away and explore the world on the Chimera’ thing.

“You know,” he said conversationally to the empty air. “I am a _trained swordsman._ I can fight. I’m good at fighting. I’m _excellent_ at stabbing big scaley things in the mouth.” Mostly he was trying to distract himself from the handcuffs, and the growing sense of unease in regards to the foaming in the water.

He’d agreed to this. For some reason. Probably because Sinbad was being incredibly handsome at him again. He _hated_ when he did that.

Something rose out of the water, bit by bit, and a lump of fear rose in Proteus’s throat. The sea serpent was… well, a little bigger than he’d anticipated. One would expect that after a Kraken little would be able to put him on edge, but when he’d fought the Kraken, he hadn’t been handcuffed to a cliff edge. _This_ particular sea serpent was about the size of the Chimera, which was small in the larger scheme of things, but still perfectly able to eat him in one bite.

Which meant Sinbad and Marina had _better_ be on time.

The serpent looked around, amphibian eyes blinking their second eyelids slowly as the saltwater dripped off of its scales and onto the rocky shore. Then, of course, it saw Proteus. Proteus, who to a rather-gender-role-bound ancient beast with a taste for princesses and a bad case of astigmatism, had long enough hair to look like a tasty snack.

“Any time now, guys,” Proteus hissed quietly as the serpent advanced on him. He could smell its breath. God, what had that thing been _eati-_

Oh. Right. He wished he hadn’t remembered that.

The serpent opened its jaws wide, teeth hovering far too close to Proteus’s face for comfort – and then a sword rammed through the roof of its mouth, and the amphibian eyes went wide, rolling up into the beast’s skull.

“Hole in one!”

“You don’t have to _brag,_ you know,” Sinbad complained. “Seriously, I start teaching her how to use a sword properly and she never lets me live it down-“

“That what, I’m actually good at it?”

Proteus exhaled in relief – then glared up at Marina in annoyance. “I’m starting to think you like putting me in death-defying situations.”

“I can’t help it. You’re cute when you’re stressed.” Marina hopped off the serpent’s twitching body and stroked Proteus’s cheek, leaning in to give him a kiss. “Besides, I didn’t think you’d mind that much. I thought you liked being tied up.”

Sinbad started snickering in the background, and Proteus felt himself turning red. “This is _different. Completely._ Will you let me off the terrifying sacrifice cliff now?”

“Hmmm…. If you ask nicely.”

“Will you let me off the terrifying sacrifice cliff now, _please?”_

“Alright, alright.” Marina unlatched the cuffs that pinned him to the cliff. “Good riddance to a terrible tradition. How do people get these ideas, really?”

Proteus rubbed his wrists, giving the serpent a nervous nudge with his foot. The thing had _better_ be dead. “Misogyny? Superstition? Convenient ways to get rid of romantic rivals?”

Sinbad hopped off the small cliff above Proteus’s head. “That’s _dark._ I like it when you get dark.”

“You say that and yet made me play bait. Next time, _you_ get tied up.”

“Me?” Sinbad pulled a mock astonished face, and in return, Proteus yanked his hat down over his face. “Oh, geddoff-“

“Boys, _behave._ ”

Proteus obliged, but still stuck his tongue out at Sinbad once Marina wasn’t looking – and got his ass grabbed for his trouble.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Sinbad whispered into his ear, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

So maybe the ‘good influence’ thing had been an overstatement. Proteus could admit to that. But so far? He thought he’d made the right decision.

(Next time, though, he was _definitely_ doing the monster-killing. A man had his limits.)


End file.
